Jonathan to Launch Re-election Bid in Lagos

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan, who is gunning for a re-election on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform has chosen Lagos State, South-west Nigeria, as the state to host his kick-off campaign.

The campaign committee of the party said the event would hold at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos today.

The PDP said its candidate is running on the record of his performance, which the party said ranges from turnaround of the agricultural sector, transportation and road networking across the country.

The PDP had ratified the choice of President Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate in the February 2015 presidential election. Jonathan’s candidacy was ratified at the National Convention of the party that was held in December at the Eagles Square in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

He polled 2,812 ‘YES’ votes to get the needed support from the party in a result that was announced in the early hours of December 11, 2014.

Jonathan had earlier been chosen as the sole candidate of the party, a development that did not go down well with some members of the party who had the intention of vying for the ticket.

Jonathan, in his acceptance speech as the PDP presidential candidate, assured his supporters and Nigerians that he will not let them down. He also announced Vice-President Namadi Sambo as his running mate in the election, promising that the 2015 elections would hold in all the 36 states of the federation.
He observed that the convention of the PDP that brought him as the presidential candidate was held on Human Rights Day and reiterated that no Nigerian would go on exile for holding contrary views under his administration.

Meanwhile, the president has suspended the inauguration of his presidential campaign committee billed to hold at 2:00pm yesterday, following the death of his younger sister, Mrs. Nancy Jonathan-Obei.

The dignitaries, who had gone to the Legacy House, the president’s campaign headquarters in Maitama, waited until 3:00pm for the arrival of the president, only to be told that the inauguration had been suspended.

Special Adviser to the president on Political Matters, Professor Rufai Alkali, who announced the suspension of the inauguration, said in view of the death of the president’s sister, the campaign organisation had decided to suspend the inauguration.

He said the inauguration had, accordingly, been shifted to this afternoon.

Source: Thisdaylive